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Ep. 763: Landscape and Murder in the Mississippi Delta

Published: 2025-09-15 09:00:00
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Steven Rinella talks with author Wright Thompson.

Topics discussed: Grab a copy of Wright's book, The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi; the history of a patch of ground; the Mississippi Delta as manmade land; the murder of Emmett Till; cotton; the sharecropper system; always referring to "The War"; what it means to be Southern; the connection between Chicago and Mississippi; learning history to know it; the existential trauma of having so much wilderness erased; and more. 

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Referenced Books

Pappyland
by Wright Thompson
Steve Rinella introduces Wright Thompson's previous works, mentioning this book about bourbon and family.
Referenced at 00:01:09
The Cost of These Dreams
by Wright Thompson
Steve Rinella mentions this book by Wright Thompson, described as 'sports stories and other serious business.'
Referenced at 00:01:09
The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi
by Wright Thompson
This is the main book being discussed in the interview. It tells the story of Emmett Till's murder through the lens of the physical location where it occurred.
Referenced at 00:02:18
Rising Tide
by John Barry
Steve mentions reading this book about the 1927 Mississippi River flood right before reading Wright's book. They discuss how it provides context about labor issues and agriculture in the Delta region.
Referenced at 00:47:39
Deep Blues
by Robert Palmer
Wright Thompson quotes from this book about the Mississippi Delta, discussing poor whites from the hills bringing violence and racism to the Delta towns as cotton prices collapsed.
Referenced at 00:57:00
The Bear
by William Faulkner
Wright Thompson discusses reading Faulkner's works and how they should be understood through the lens of bewilderment at the rapid transformation of the Mississippi Delta wilderness.
Referenced at 01:43:52
Go Down, Moses
by William Faulkner
Mentioned alongside other Faulkner works as examples of literature that deals with civilization versus nature in the Mississippi Delta.
Referenced at 01:43:52
Absalom, Absalom!
by William Faulkner
Discussed as one of Faulkner's works that explores the existential loss and trauma of wilderness being erased in the Mississippi Delta.
Referenced at 01:43:52